Regaleon: The Forgotten Knight

Silence lingered within the room moments after Maverick finished speaking.

Only the rhythmic crackling of the fireplace in one corner disturbed the stillness as orange flames danced lazily behind the iron grate, their warm glow painting shifting shadows across the marble walls.

Goldric did not answer immediately. Yet, it seemed no response was necessary, for the contemplative look lingering upon Maverick’s face suggested that the young man had not yet exhausted the thoughts weighing upon his mind.

His brows gradually knitted together as his index finger and thumb absently stroked his chin. After several moments of contemplation, he finally lifted his gaze toward his father with a pensive expression.

"You know Cedric wasn’t the only person who gave me that feeling of circumspection."

He paused briefly before adding thoughtfully,

"In fact, I’ve had that feeling ever since we stepped out of the carriage."

Goldric’s brows rose in mild intrigue.

"Oh? And who else gave you such a feeling?Was it the Elders of the House or perhaps the knights?"

"No, father." Maverick answered without the slightest hesitation.

His golden eyes met his father’s with unwavering seriousness as he continued,

"It was Lady Seraphina. She was the other person."

A pin-drop silence descended upon the chamber immediately. If the previous silence had merely been contemplative, then this one was infinitely more oppressive.

Goldric stared at his son with undisguised astonishment before asking slowly. "Are you absolutely certain about what you’re saying?"

Maverick nodded without the slightest trace of uncertainty.

"I’m not mistaken. Although I didn’t perceive any overt hostility from her at the time, my instincts kept warning me that she was an exceptionally astute, inscrutable, and calculating individual."

He lowered his voice until it was barely above a whisper.

"In fact, if I were to make a somewhat circumspect and reasoned guess, I would say she was the one who orchestrated the ambush against us."

Goldric’s expression revealed profound and unfeigned surprise. "Don’t make such an accusation so lightly. What if you’re mistaken?"

Maverick looked at his father for a long moment before slowly shaking his head.

"I can’t be mistaken, Father." He answered firmly.

Actually, Maverick’s way of thinking had always been remarkably straightforward.

Yet accompanying those keen, methodical, perceptive thoughts was an astonishingly preternatural intuition, one that had preserved his life on countless occasions during battles from which he had no business emerging alive.

Although, as a mere Rank One Etheryean, an Initial Stage at that, he theoretically should not have been capable of discerning the subtle emotional undercurrents and concealed psychological nuances of individuals vastly stronger than himself; however, intuition did not function according to cultivation ranks.

Rather, it is something born from accumulated experience, relentless observation, and an individual’s perceptiveness.

Also, acording to that intuition of his, Maverick would have wagered everything precious in Aetherium that Lady Seraphina had been involved in the ambush upon their convoy.

And this conviction was without reason.

To begin with, an ambush executed with such flawless precision could only have been arranged by someone who possessed prior knowledge of both their departure and the route they intended to travel.

On the eve of their journey, Goldric had personally dispatched a letter to House Valehart informing them of his impending arrival.

Beyond that, when they departed the Frozen North, only the twelve accompanying knights knew of the journey.

In other words, the only people privy to their movements were the fourteen members of the travelling party... And whoever within House Valehart had access to Goldric’s correspondence.

Among those people... Valdric and Lady Seraphina.

However, even that was not the principal reason Maverick trusted his intuition so implicitly.

Rather, it was because of what he had glimpsed within Lady Seraphina’s emerald eyes.

Outwardly, the Matriarch of the House had conducted herself with flawless composure; every smile, gesture, and word had been befitting of the impeccable matriarch of House Valehart.

Yet beneath that immaculate political façade, for the briefest fraction of a heartbeat, just before she had concealed it completely, Maverick had caught a flicker of consternation and bewilderment.

It had been fleeting... So fleeting that almost no one could have noticed it.

But he had and that was enough because that single, involuntary reaction only helped to deepen his suspicions.

After all, why would Lady Seraphina be surprised to see them alive when she had already received word of their imminent return?

Even servants who had never laid eyes upon either Goldric or Maverick had displayed nothing beyond ordinary curiosity.

Yet the woman who supposedly knew they were coming had been surprised.

The contradiction was impossible for Maverick to ignore. Thus, he merely needed to connect the scattered pieces together; and the result was a compelling conclusion.

Maverick continued quietly,

"I know what I saw, Father. But beyond that, I know what I felt. That wasn’t a mistake; instead, it was a conviction."

He spoke with unmistakable seriousness. And naturally, he expected his father to answer with equal gravity.

However, after several long moments, Goldric merely smiled.

A warm, approvingly smile settled upon his face as he spoke. "You’ve grown up."

Maverick blinked, the sudden incongruity of his father’s response leaving him momentarily speechless.

Only after several seconds did he finally ask.

"And how exactly does that have anything to do with what I just said, Father?"

Goldric’s smile widened ever so slightly. "It has everything to do with it."

He clasped his fingers together. Then leaning his chin on them, he continued.

"The way you analysed the situation just now made me realize something; you’ve truly grown beyond the conventional cognitive limitations of your age. It tells me that you no longer approach matters through impulsive emotions or superficial assumptions. Instead... You dissect them with intellectual discernment."

His expression softened as he spoke further.

"I always knew you were intelligent. But I never realized that you had become this mature. And perhaps... That is a very good thing."

Maverick narrowed his eyes before replying dubiously. "I’m honestly not sure whether I should take that as a compliment... Or as an admonishment."

Goldric merely chuckled.

He offered no direct answer.

Instead, he gently steered the conversation back toward Maverick’s intuitive deductions and observational inferences, his thoughtful gaze lingering upon his son as the crackling fireplace continued to fill the chamber with its quiet warmth...